- Two New Studies in NSCLC Patients in Collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center and MedImmune -

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Dec. 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA), a biotechnology company developing novel cancer immunotherapies based on tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) technology, is hosting an Analyst Day today, Wednesday, December 13, 2017, beginning at 9:00am ET, in New York City. During the event, the company will provide an update on its lead program in metastatic melanoma, including a presentation of updated data showing partial responses in four out of 10 patients in cohort 2 in the C-144-01 trial. The company will also review its two additional company-sponsored trials in recurrent, metastatic, or persistent cervical cancer and recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck as well as an expansion of the TIL pipeline into lung cancer. Additionally, the company’s proprietary Generation 2 (Gen 2) manufacturing process has now been selected for all ongoing and future TIL clinical development.

“Iovance has made substantial progress in 2017 and we are eager to showcase our work during today’s Analyst Day. We have formally selected Gen 2 as the manufacturing process to be used for registration and have switched all the ongoing study protocols over to this process,” said Dr. Maria Fardis, PhD, MBA, president and chief executive officer of Iovance Biotherapeutics. “We are also enthusiastic about our expansion into lung cancer. In collaboration with two industry-leading partners, we will explore the potential of TIL therapy alone and in combination with approved systemic agents. The study at Moffitt has been initiated and the Iovance study, with MedImmune, combining TIL and durvalumab will start in the first half of 2018. We also will provide an update regarding data from cohort 2 of the C-144-01 melanoma study confirming partial responses in four out of 10 patients.”

Manufacturing Update

Iovance announced today that it has selected its Gen 2 manufacturing process for all three Phase 2 trials and for all future TIL clinical development. The protocols for the company’s three existing studies have all been amended to allow for enrollment of new patients with TIL manufactured with the Gen 2 process. Cohort 1 of the C-144-01 melanoma study will be closed and new patients will be enrolled in cohort 2. The Gen 2 manufacturing process takes 22 days and the final cell product is cryopreserved for ease of scheduling and handling. The decision to use the Gen 2 manufacturing process was based on data recently presented at the SITC 2017 Annual Meeting in November, the approximately 35 percent reduction in cost of manufacturing as well as the benefits to patients which include minimizing the time a patient has to wait to receive their TIL and flexibility of scheduling the dosing. Iovance has filed multiple provisional patent applications specific to this process, which if granted, could provide exclusive rights through 2038.

C-144-01 is a Phase 2 multicenter study evaluating the safety and efficacy of LN-144, Iovance’s lead product candidate for treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma. The study is currently enrolling. To date, Iovance has 11 active clinical sites in the United States and intends to start enrolling patients at clinical sites in Europe in early 2018. In November 2017, the company reported results from cohort 2 of the C-144-01 study at the SITC Annual Meeting. The data being presented today show an objective response rate of 40 percent, with four of ten patients showing a partial response. The most common side effects were pyrexia, anemia and decreased neutrophil count. These patients had a high tumor burden despite a median of 3.6 prior therapies including anti-CTLA and PD-1 treatment.

C-145-03 is a Phase 2, multicenter study that will enroll up to 47 patients and will assess the safety and efficacy of LN-145 for the treatment of patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The trial has met the efficacy threshold for the first stage of the Simon’s two stage design and will therefore continue to enroll patients to the full sample size of 47 per protocol. Iovance has amended the protocol so that newly enrolled patients can be treated using TIL produced from the Gen 2 manufacturing process. Iovance anticipates reporting early data from this study in 2018.

C-145-04 is a Phase 2, multicenter, study that will enroll up to 47 patients and will assess the safety and efficacy of LN-145 for the treatment of patients with recurrent, metastatic, or persistent cervical carcinoma. The study is enrolling patients in the Unites States and is expected to start enrollment of patients in Europe in the first half of 2018. Iovance has amended the protocol so that newly enrolled patients can be treated using TIL produced from the Gen 2 manufacturing process.

TIL Pipeline Expansion into Lung Cancer

The company announced today that patient enrollment has begun in a study in collaboration with researchers at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute (Moffitt), Stand Up to Cancer, and other collaborators. Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) will be enrolled in a study combining TIL and nivolumab in patients who have progressed on nivolumab.

The company also announced that a Phase 2 study in PD-1 and PD-L1 naïve NSCLC patients, sponsored by Iovance, in collaboration with MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, will initiate in the first half of 2018. The study with MedImmune will allow for enrollment with LN-145 alone or in combination with durvalumab.

MD Anderson Collaboration Update

Iovance provided an update on its collaboration with the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDA). Under the collaboration, MDA will initiate two basket studies in sarcoma and platinum resistant ovarian cancer. One study will utilize TIL manufactured by Iovance and for the second study, TIL will be manufactured by MDA. Under the agreement with MDA, Iovance also retains the rights to MDA preclinical research in expanding the understanding of TIL and certain intellectual property related to the MDA TIL manufacturing process.

Today’s Guest Speakers

Key Opinion Leaders will discuss current treatment options and the role of TIL in melanoma, head and neck, lung and cervical cancers. Invited guest speakers include:

Webcast InformationA live webcast of today’s presentation can be accessed on the investor page of Iovance Biotherapeutics’ website at http://www.iovance.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived on Iovance Biotherapeutics’ website for 30 days following the presentation.

About Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of cancer immunotherapy products for the treatment of various cancers. The Company's lead product candidate is an adoptive cell therapy using tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) technology being investigated for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma, recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and recurrent and metastatic or persistent cervical cancer. For more information, please visit http://www.iovance.com.

Forward-Looking Statements Certain matters discussed in this press release are “forward-looking statements”. The Company may, in some cases, use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. In particular, the Company’s statements regarding trends and potential future results are examples of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the efficacy, safety, tolerability and cost of the Gen 2 manufacturing process, the success, timing and cost of the Company’s ongoing clinical trials and anticipated clinical trials for its current product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation and completion of the trials; the timing of and its ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory authority approval of, or other action with respect to, its product candidates; the strength of the Company’s product pipeline; the successful implementation of the Company’s research and development programs and collaborations; the success of the Company’s license or development agreements; the acceptance by the market of the Company’s product candidates, if approved; and other factors, including general economic conditions and regulatory developments, not within the Company’s control. The factors discussed herein could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed in or implied by such statements. A further list and description of the Company’s risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov or www.iovance.com. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstance.